Matthew S. Liebheit, 39, of Moro, IL, was charged Friday with a three count Complaint charging him with two counts of Theft, Embezzlement, or Misapplication by a Bank Officer or Employee, and one count of False Bank Entries.

The charges stem from a purported bank robbery at Liberty Bank in Bethalto, Illinois, on December 13, 2014. Liebheit, a bank manager at Liberty Bank, called police to report a bank robbery, indicating that a masked individual forced him into the bank at gun point prior to the bank opening. He gave a description of the suspect’s vehicle as being a tan station wagon or crossover style vehicle. He stated that he was forced to give that individual over $200,000 from the bank’s vault.

Further investigation revealed that Liebheit’s truck was used by the masked individual and a band of ten dollar bills was found in a search of Liebheit’s truck. Additional investigation showed that Liebheit had allegedly altered withdrawal documents from a Liberty Bank customer’s account to reflect a larger than intended withdrawal from that customer’s account. The day before the purported robbery, Liebheit allegedly falsified documentation to show a substantial deposit to that customer’s account.

Liebheit is scheduled for an initial appearance on the complaint today at 11 a.m. in federal court in East St. Louis.

If convicted, Liebheit faces a term in federal prison of not more than thirty years, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and a term of supervised release of not more than five years.

A criminal complaint is merely a document used to begin a federal prosecution. A defendant is presumed innocent of any charges unless or until a jury decides that the person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bethalto Police Department. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Laura Reppert.